Hagel, Dempsey to defend unpopular cuts — SASC hearing a day after release of budget and QDR

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HAGEL, DEMPSEY TO DEFEND THEIR UNPOPULAR CUTS: Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey are set to begin selling their unpopular spending cuts to a skeptical Congress this morning. They’re due at 9:30 a.m. before the Senate Armed Services Committee, where even the Democratic chairman is voicing skepticism about the need this year for compensation reforms, A-10 retirements and base closings. “I don’t think BRAC has proven its case over the years very well,” Sen. Carl Levin told reporters last week.

For Hagel and Dempsey, the key will be convincing senators the proposed cuts are the only way to avoid a “hollow” military — one unprepared to fight. In an election year, though, lawmakers are likely to be as determined as ever to overturn painful decisions and replace them with less visible reductions: deferred maintenance and scaled-back training programs, along with less money for research and development. “I think that many on the Hill realize that we need a balanced package here,” Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale said at the Pentagon yesterday as he briefed reporters on the new budget request.

The elephant in the room will be Ukraine, and we’ve been told Republicans will be pressing the issue. For defense hawks, Russia’s incursion into the Crimean peninsula is a reminder of the need for a muscular military to deter such aggression. But GOP defense advocates are in a tough spot, caught between President Barack Obama and the forces in their own party pushing to reduce federal spending even at the expense of the Defense Department. “If we don’t like the tough choices on the table, then shame on us as Republicans for following the president down this path,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon said yesterday in a blunt statement.

THE SASC HEARING COMES A DAY AFTER THE RELEASE OF THE BUDGET AND THE QDR, which both set off frenzies on Capitol Hill. For his part, McKeon made good on his threat — first reported by Morning D — to “reject” this year's Quadrennial Defense Review. The California Republican vowed in a statement to put forward legislation requiring the Pentagon to rewrite and resubmit the document, which lays out the military’s long-term strategy and anticipated threats.

Required every four years by Congress, the QDR is intended in part to detail an “optimal” force structure for carrying out the nation’s military strategy, independent of budget constraints. But McKeon said this year’s review does the opposite. “In defiance of the law, this QDR provides no insight into what a moderate-to-low risk strategy would be, is clearly budget driven, and is shortsighted,” he said.

— DOD 'PLANNING MUCH MORE CAREFULLY' FOR SEQUESTER: The Defense Department is “planning much more carefully” for the threat of sequestration if it returns in fiscal year 2016, the Pentagon comptroller said, but that wouldn’t make it any less dangerous. Hale told reporters at the Pentagon that DoD had made reasonable warnings to Congress about the dangers of sequestration the first time around, and that the dangers of more sequestration are also real.

— AIR FORCE WILL FUND COMBAT RESCUE HELICOPTER: The Air Force has decided to add funding to its fiscal 2014 budget for the development of its new combat rescue helicopter, a top budget official told reporters yesterday. “A contract will be awarded this year,” Maj. Gen. James Martin said. This is good news for Sikorsky, which is expected to win the contract.

— ARMY: CANCELATION OF GCV 'FUNDAMENTALLY A FINANCIAL ISSUE': The Army’s decision to cancel its Ground Combat Vehicle was mostly about costs and budgets, a top service budget official said. Davis Welch, deputy director of the Army Department’s budget, told reporters that program cost growth and outside budget pressure had combined to prompt the Army to kill the program it once had called a top acquisition priority.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY AND WELCOME TO MORNING DEFENSE, where we’re always on the lookout for tips, pitches and feedback. Email us at awright@politico.com, and follow us on Twitter @abwrig.

SO HOW’D THE VA FAIR IN THE BUDGET REQUEST? POLITICO’s Juana Summers explains: “In his spending plan for the 2015 fiscal year, the president calls for the Department of Veterans Affairs to get more money, not less. Altogether, he is asking Congress to increase the VA’s budget by nearly 7 percent over fiscal 2014 levels. That includes $68.4 billion in discretionary spending — largely for health care — as well as $95.6 billion for mandatory programs. ‘The budget will allow us to continue the progress we have made in helping veterans secure their place in the middle class,’ VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said.” http://politico.pro/1lxzsmb

SEXUAL ASSAULT VOTE TOMORROW? Senate aides say they’re gearing up for a possible pair of floor votes as soon as tomorrow on military sexual assault, though nothing has been officially scheduled yet. Up for debate are New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand's bill to remove the chain of command from prosecution decisions and an alternative from Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill that would set new rules for victims and defendants.

DoD OFFICIAL: PACIFIC PIVOT CAN’T HAPPEN … OR CAN IT? Assistant Defense Secretary for Acquisition Katrina McFarland made headlines yesterday when she declared in a speaking event in Northern Virginia, “The pivot is being looked at again, because candidly it can’t happen” in the current fiscal environment. But McFarland’s eyebrow-raising comment didn’t stand long. She quickly issued a statement with the party line: “The rebalance to Asia can and will continue.”

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THE LATEST ON UKRAINE, via Reuters: “The United States and Russia will hold talks on easing East-West tension over Ukraine on Wednesday as the West steps up efforts to persuade Moscow to pull its forces back to base in Crimea and avert the risk of a war. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet face-to-face for the first time since the crisis escalated, after a conference in Paris attended by all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.” http://reut.rs/OZuWzJ

WHY DIDN’T THE U.S. KNOW SOONER? POLITICO’s Josh Gerstein and Burgess Everett have the story: “Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s history as a tough-as-nails leader bent on restoring Russia’s sphere of influence, the U.S. intelligence community failed to read the signs when it came to Ukraine. That has members of Congress asking why there was no clear warning that Russia would respond militarily to the abrupt departure of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych by sending troops into Crimea — and what intelligence agencies plan to do about the oversight.” http://politi.co/1fZKKeY

MAKING MOVES

HOYER TAPS NEW NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) has hired Daniel Silverberg as his national security adviser. Silverberg, who will oversee national security and foreign affairs issues, served as counsel and general counsel to the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the past six years. And, earlier, he was an attorney in the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel. http://goo.gl/p1NxWu

SPEED READ

— Only one paragraph of the QDR released yesterday mentions the security risk from Russia. National Journal: http://goo.gl/UbCSP1

— Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert talks about the 2015 budget and the LCS and F-35 programs in a new interview. Defense News: http://goo.gl/18PXGq

— Navy Secretary Ray Mabus says Navy sailors and Marines will get their first increase in sea pay in more than ten years, perhaps up to 25 percent. Stars and Stripes: http://goo.gl/osG2k9

— At his speech at AIPAC, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he had “very good talks” with the president at the White House on Monday. POLITICO: http://goo.gl/e5OfKl

— Still, Netanyahu continues to urge the U.S. to get more aggressive on Iran’s nuclear program. The Washington Post: http://goo.gl/wbdCIC

— The Air Force Academy opens another cheating investigation, this time into 40 freshmen cadets. AP: http://goo.gl/VxTFcH

— A new, Army-funded report links increased suicide rates among service members with deployment. Army Times: http://goo.gl/uTJxr

— The Syrian government, increasing its rate of delivery for its chemical weapons stockpile, hopes to complete its job by the end of next month. The New York Times: http://goo.gl/LI3KRm

— A high-level State Department official for East Asia urges Japan and South Korea to improve their relationship. AP: http://goo.gl/vhWh9

— The 57-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation is sending a military observer mission to Ukraine. AP: http://goo.gl/sNw2Cx

— Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the Code Pink protest group, says she was detained and assaulted by Egyptian authorities at the Cairo airport. The New York Times: http://goo.gl/gu0d17